


Alleviation

by Amarylissa



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Case Fic, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-01
Updated: 2013-05-01
Packaged: 2017-12-10 02:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/780723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amarylissa/pseuds/Amarylissa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another case for Five-0</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> For http://hawaii-50-hc.livejournal.com/ ABC Challenge
> 
> A million thanks to Kaige68 for the beta- all remaining mistakes are my own.

_Prologue_

“HPD, how can I help you?”

“It’s Mrs Jonas, at Sacred Hearts Academy. We’ve had a report that there is a guy just down the street offering drugs. We have children about to come out of school. I’d be grateful if you could send some officers down to check it out as a matter of urgency please.”

“I’ll get someone down there right away.”

Over the radio: “We have a suspected drug dealer on 4th and Waialae. Who’s in the area?”

Danny and Steve were picking up Grace that Friday. Shave ice was on the agenda, followed by a trip to the beach. 

Steve looked at Danny. “We’re early, we’re right there – what do you think?”

Danny nodded, and pulled over. 

They spotted the potential drug dealer right away. He saw them too and started to run. 

The two men leapt out of the car and followed the dealer down the road. In the heat of the chase, Steve stumbled, dizzy for a moment. Seconds later it passed: he picked up his pace but Danny had downed the guy was cuffing him.

“Catch up, slowpoke! Do I have to do it all myself today?”

Steve shook his head, testing himself, then jogged over. It had been a long week: maybe he just needed something to eat.


	2. Chapter 2

They were spending more time together since Steve’s mom got back. Anyone could see that he was uncomfortable with her when she breezed into his home and acted like she’d never been away. So he went back to Danny’s after work, stayed out late, and came in to the office early.

Danny had noticed that Steve was behaving like a teenager where his mom was concerned, but for once he held his tongue. He’d spoken to Doris McGarrett enough to know that she and Steve had to work this thing out themselves. Anyone trying to intervene was likely to get blasted in the crossfire. So he kept his fridge full of beer, and if Steve crashed out on the couch more times than not, well, that was what friends were for.

xxxxx

Over the weekend, that one drug dealer had led HPD to a second, the second to a third, and by Monday morning the Hawaii Five-0 team had a case on their hands. Chin was running known associates to see if anything linked up, while Danny and Kono had gone down to HPD Narcotics to see what they had on the trio. 

“I think I got something Steve,” Chin called across the room. 

Steve stood up from his desk, ready to stride across and see what Chin had, but instead he had to grasp the desk as his head spun. A wave of nausea hit him, and he leant on both arms, hoping that he wouldn’t throw up. Moments later, he heard a concerned, “What’s up, brah?”

“Head rush. Must have stood up too fast.”

Chin took Steve by the arm and sat him down. Steve shut his eyes firmly, wishing that everything would stay still.

“I’ll be OK. Did you get a breakthrough?”

“You’re looking kind of white, Steve. Are you going to be OK if I go get you some water?”

Steve nodded, and then regretted it as his stomach churned. He clasped a hand to his mouth, then lurched forward. Chin reacted fast, grabbing the wastebasket and shoving it in Steve’s hands.

Steve felt a fraction better after throwing up, and sat back in his chair, feeling glad that Chin was the only witness. But then Danny and Kono blasted back into the outer office, talking noisily about lousy coffee and stupid criminals. Steve slumped further, a hand on his still spinning head.  
Danny came straight into Steve’s office, Kono half a pace behind. Steve groaned at the public humiliation, but he didn’t get the ribbing he expected.

“Come on, babe, let’s get you home.”

Eyes half closed, Steve felt Danny’s hand on his elbow.

“I’m fine,” he said, unsure if he could say more without vomiting again.

Chin and Kono had slipped quietly from the office, leaving Danny to negotiate the tricky task of convincing Steve to stop work.

“Fine he says! You are not fine, babe. And even if you felt one hundred percent you need to go and take your nasty viruses to where they won’t infect the rest of the office. When Grace is sick, she has to stay home for forty eight hours just so the rest of the class doesn’t catch whatever she has, and the way you’re looking now forty eight hours in bed seems like a good plan.”

Steve would have argued, but instead he lurched for the wastebasket again which defeated any argument he might have made.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve stumbled to the Camaro, relying on Danny to get him there as his balance seemed off. There was no vying for the keys: Danny guided the taller man into the passenger seat and closed the door. Steve spent the journey with his eyes closed, head against the glass. Danny shot him worried glances as he drove.

Pulling up to the parking space outside his apartment, Danny said, “Come on, big guy, time to get you inside.”

Steve opened his eyes, then closed them again, “Just leave me here: I’ll come in a moment.”

Danny ignored him, and strode round to the passenger door. He pulled it open carefully, and went to help Steve out. The movement brought back the nausea, and Steve bent over and retched, his stomach empty.

“Careful, now! Watch the shoes,” Danny said, his tone softer than the words he used. 

Inside, he guided Steve to the couch where he crashed out with his arm thrown back over his eyes. Danny covered Steve up with a blanket, placed a bucket and glass of water by his side, and withdrew to fire up the laptop and keep an eye on his partner. 

xxxxx

Of course, Danny had been optimistic about keeping Steve out of the office for forty eight hours. He’d gone to bed around midnight once it was clear that Steve was out for the count. Coming out of the bedroom in the morning, the first words he heard were:

“Just stomach flu. No, I’m fine. We’ll see you there.”

Steve was up, showered, and ready to go.

“Come on Danno: we’ve got a case.”

“Hold on, Steven. I told Chin to call me, not you.”

“He did.” Steve held out Danny’s phone to him, but kept the car keys. “Hurry up: I’ve made you coffee, you can drink it on the way.” And with that he was off to the car.

xxxxx

Detective Danny Williams was not a happy man. It wasn’t just that he had started the day going straight to a case on an empty stomach, although that didn’t improve things. He was more concerned about his partner doing the same.

“We need to get something to eat, Steve.”

“In a bit Danny. Can’t you keep your hunger pangs at bay for a while?”

“I’m doing OK, but someone not too far away must be running on empty.”

Steve scowled. “I’m fine.”

“Well, don’t blame me if you flake out in the field. Even you need fuel, unless you have some secret energy source that you’re not sharing. I mean, no normal person eats quite as healthily as you, so that might be a possibility. But even so, I’d say a quick stop for a bite on the way might have been a…”

Ignoring his partner, Steve pulled to a halt at the crime scene, and leapt out of the car. His face was tense as he shouted across the top of the car to Danny. He waved at a nearby McDonalds, “You go and grab a burger: I’m going to get on with work!”

It went downhill from there. 

Five-0 had been called in to investigate a death in a butcher’s store. A member of staff had come in around six to discover his boss on the floor, his guts spilled across the white tiles, the blood a shocking contrast to the tidy hygienic surrounds. The man was giving his statement, 

"I should be used to it, I mean I slaughter animals, but seeing Carlo down there, it wasn't like work. And the smell..."

Even with the death HPD might have handled it were it not for the spillage of powder on the floor trailing out into a back alley. The first cop on scene had been unsure what he was dealing with, so Steve had to coordinate a hazmat team and HPD’s drug squad. Max wasn’t helping

“I am quite clear that this is cocaine, Commander. I understand the precautions, am suitably garbed, and see no reason why I cannot now enter the scene.”

Steve rubbed his brow. “I want to get some action going as much as you do Max, but we can’t rush in. I’ll see what Hazmat says: just hold on. This shouldn’t take much longer.”

Max wasn’t the only one keen to get started: Chin had his tablet out and was looking into the background of the store owner, but Kono was pacing up and down.

“Steve looks like crap this morning,” she said to Chin. “Did you hear him bawl at Danny when they got out of the car?” 

Chin just nodded, then showed her the screen. “Looks like the dead guy’s brother Marti has previous for possession: drugs and firearms.”

He looked up, and called Steve over. 

Danny appeared too, with a box of coffees and malasadas.

“Wrap yourselves round these, guys, while Chin fills us in.”

“Mahalo, brah.”

Everyone took a coffee, but only Kono and Danny started eating as Chin explained what he’d found. 

Steve stood, arms crossed, frowning. “Right. Kono, Chin, stay here and try and speed things along: the sooner we can get samples to Fong, the sooner we know what we’re dealing with. Once you’ve done that, see if this links up with the guys we picked up earlier in the week. The increase in drug activity has gotta be suspicious. I’m going to work on the basis that today’s murder is some sort of drug deal gone wrong. Danny, let’s go and shake down the brother and see where it leads us.”

And with that Steve headed straight for the Camaro. Danny thrust the rest of the bag of malasadas at Chin and legged it after his partner.


	4. Chapter 4

Three days straight they’d been on this case. The brother had blurted out all he knew after a little pressure from Steve: Danny had simply stood by while Steve gave vent to his frustration in a good cause. It was clear that they had discovered small branch of a bigger drug ring. There wasn’t enough information, though, to find the main players straight off so the team had been running round the island, following the web of contacts that could be linked to the dead butcher. At the same time it became clear that someone was trying to thwart their efforts by bumping off as many people who could be linked to the drug ring. With a trail of bodies, and numbers mounting daily, all the team were one hundred percent focused on finding the key players.

Discovering the place where the drugs had been stored was a combination of luck and Chin’s tech skills. He had correlated the GPS tracks from the deceased, his brother, and another low-level dealer, placing them all around the docks. Then, a couple of bodies turned up within the same area: a little research showed both the dead men had previous drug convictions. HPD were in the process of setting up a stakeout: Steve and Danny went down to check out the area first.

“So, we’re not going in, we’re going to stay out of sight, and if we spot anything we’re calling for backup?” Danny asked with a degree of futility.

Steve agreed distractedly, his eyes already scanning the docks for movement. They’d left the car a few blocks up to avoid alerting anyone to their presence. Daylight was fading, the legitimate dock workers had left, so it was the ideal time for a scouting expedition. Steve had sent Chin and Kono to get dinner and they were all going to eat together.

“A quick once over each warehouse then back to the office?”

Danny was still seeking confirmation from Steve when his partner pressed him back against the wall.

“There’s someone over there: they’re opening the side door.”

Danny couldn’t see the guy, but reached in his pocket for his phone, just in case.  
“Steady, Steve. We’re just scoping this out.”

His words came too late. Steve was already beckoning him forwards, the taller man crouching to get the best view point.

“I’m going to see if I can get close enough to ID him.”

Danny gritted his teeth, then said, “It’s getting dark Steven, you’ll have to be on top of him to see his face.” Steve paid no attention, and swiftly straightened up to run forwards. Danny followed after him, only to see his partner fall to the floor.

Danny crouched down to see what had happened to Steve, just in time to miss the bullets that started flying over his head. He responded rapidly, dragging Steve back round the corner to their previous hiding place. Phone in one hand, gun in the other, he speed-dialed Chin.  
“Chin, we’ve hit a problem. We’re at the docks and we need back-up, fast. There’s someone shooting at us, and Steve has passed out.”

xxxxx

For Danny, the next few moments seemed interminable. His attention had to be on keeping the shooter at bay, but he kept anxiously dropping his eyes to Steve. He reloaded his gun during a pause in the shots, then stuck his head cautiously round the corner. He could see nothing in the dim evening light. At that moment Steve stirred. Danny retreated back out of view, gun still in his hand.

“Easy Steve.” One hand on his partner’s shoulder, he looked around uneasily. The cessation of bullets meant one of two things: the shooter was getting away, or he was sneaking up on them.

Steve tried to sit up, but then lay back down on the tarmac with a groan. Danny risked a glance down. There was no sign of blood. Steve had fallen before the shooting started. What was happening?

Danny heard sirens nearing with a sense of relief. Only a few more moments and he’d have some backup.

xxxxx

In the ambulance, Steve still seemed out of it. He lay flat, eyes half closed and didn’t struggle to avoid the hospital, didn’t fight back as the paramedics checked him out. Danny sat in the corner of the vehicle, watching and worrying.

xxxxx

Back at the crime scene, things were proceeding rapidly. All thoughts of stakeouts had been abandoned and after securing a passage to get Steve out, SWAT scoured the area for the shooter. Within half an hour, they had unearthed the warehouse that seemed to be the center of the drug ring, and were embroiled in a full out battle with around ten heavily armed men who had scattered around the area.

“Steve’s going to be sick at missing this!” Kono screamed to Chin from the roof as she shot down a runner attempting to sneak up on a member of SWAT, then took off down the stairs after another man who thought he’d get away over the wasteland.


	5. Chapter 5

The lights were dim in the hospital room. Steve lay there in the silence. He’d been submitted to a barrage of tests for the unexplained loss of consciousness – not that he was admitting he’d passed out. He’d finally summoned up the energy in ER to say to Danny, “I was just dizzy”, but that hadn’t stopped the doctors giving him a full work up.

Now he was just grateful that everyone seemed to have gone away for a bit. He was linked up to a drip, but that was all. If only the room would stop spinning he might be able to get out of bed and find his clothes. Perhaps if he just closed his eyes for a moment…

The next thing Steve knew was someone trying to wake him.

“Commander? Commander McGarrett?” 

He shot up and gripped the woman’s wrist, only to reel as the room spun again. He clamped his hand to his mouth, the all too familiar feeling of nausea resurfacing.

“I’m sorry, Commander, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

A drowsy voice came from a chair by the bed. “He’s gonna hurl, you know. I recognize that face.” 

Steve felt unexpected gratitude to Danny as he thrust a cardboard bowl in front of him.

After a short pause to let Steve finish, the nurse said, “I just wanted to let you know the doctor’s on his way up. He wants to have a quick chat with you.” She turned to Danny who had remained beside Steve. “Detective Williams, do you want to wait outside?”

Steve was lying flat again, testing whether things seemed to spin less with his eyes open or closed. 

“He can stay.”

He decided if he fixed on the corner of the room things seemed a little better. He moved his hand to feel where Danny was, and got hold of his arm. Gripping on made him feel a little more stable.

“You had us worried there, babe.”

Just then, the doctor entered.

“Commander, I’m Doctor Kama. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

“He’s just vomited as soon as he sat up, Doctor.”

“Ah. Detective Williams. The nurse explained you’d been very helpful in sharing your partner’s medical history. Well, we’ve been thorough: with your history of head injuries it is important to be careful, but fortunately this simply looks like a case of vestibular neuronitis.”

Both men looked blankly at the doctor.

“I'm sorry Commander, I’m being unclear. You have vertigo, that’s what’s making you sick and dizzy. It is most likely caused by a virus that affects the inner ear. We can't offer a cure but remaining flat in a quiet dark room can alleviate the symptoms. Try to avoid stressful situations too. We’re running some meds through the IV which should help, but they may make you drowsy. Let’s give it 24 hours and you should be feeling well enough to go home. You are likely to continue to get sick and dizzy for several days, though. It’s hard to tell how long the vertigo will last. Given the risky nature of what you do, though, you need to stay home from work for the next two weeks at least, and we will run some tests then to check that we can’t provoke the vertigo before letting you go back into the field.”

Steve groaned.

“Are you feeling nauseous again Commander?”


	6. Chapter 6

Danny threw his hands up in the air. He’d been home for a few hours with the aim of grabbing some sleep, but was back at the hospital by eight am. He’d slept badly, lying in his bed worrying about Steve, worrying about the case. He couldn’t get the feeling of Steve’s hand gripping his arm out of his head. Perhaps he should have stayed with his partner… but Steve had been adamant that Danny should go home. 

Googling vertigo and vestibular neuronitis hadn’t helped reassure him. The large coffee he was clasping was helping to some extent, but he was not ready for what faced him when he reached Steve’s hospital room.

Last night the commander had been uncharacteristically compliant, which was partly what had Danny so worried. This morning, things had obviously changed. A health care assistant was storming out of Steve’s room, mop and bucket in hand. In the room, Steve was flat on the bed looking grey, and Doctor Kama and a nurse were having a heated discussion.

“What happened?” Both the medics turned to Danny, and Steve half opened his eyes.

Doctor Kame answered: “Commander McGarrett decided to discharge himself. It didn’t agree with him. Now, Commander, if you can pass the day without being sick again, take on board some food and drink, and keep it down, we may, just may, release you this evening. That is, as long as you have a responsible adult who will remain with you until this bout of vertigo has passed.”

Steve cautiously turned his head towards Danny, who sighed.

Xxxxx

Despite his earlier antics, Steve had persuaded Danny that there was no need to babysit while he was in the hospital, so Danny was in the office. He was in two minds whether to believe Steve, but Chin had been texting him since seven am with updates on the case, and they needed to work out the next step. 

“So, what really went wrong yesterday, brah?” Kono asked almost as soon as Danny stepped over the threshold. 

“What’s the matter with Steve?” Chin said. 

“I’m gonna need more coffee ... and an update,” Danny said.

Chin and Kono had been at the warehouse until around three in the morning, before leaving to snatch a few hours of sleep, and the crime scene investigators were still there. Danny filled them in on Steve, then said: 

“We’ve blown all chances of sneaking up on them, then?” 

“I think they knew we were on to them anyway: HPD have picked up two more dead drug dealers this morning. It’s bizarre: like they are cleaning up after themselves.” Chin said. 

“Hmmm.” Danny frowned. “We have a sudden increase in dealers on the street, then someone is ready to destroy the business, but who?”

xxxxx

Danny finished up at work, then headed back to the hospital to pick Steve up and bring him back to the apartment. Steve had been sent home with diazepam to help with the dizziness, and promethazine for the nausea. Together, they had the combined effect of making him sleep like a baby. Once at the apartment he crashed out in Danny’s bed. Danny looked at the doses on the packets and wondered how much of the next two weeks could he keep Steve asleep for.

He’d spent most of the day tracing leads on the drug case, but the rest had been spent liaising with Chin, working out an arrangement so that he could work from home part of the time. Chin had set Danny up with a home workstation that could log in to the secure servers, while Kono had focused on the practicalities. 

Danny’s apartment was now cleaner that it had been since he moved in and the fridge was well stocked thanks to several Kelly-Kalakaua aunties. Danny also had the numbers of aunties who had all volunteered to ‘Steve-sit’. Fortunately he’d not yet had to explain that to his partner. Other people with a virus causing vertigo might have been relied upon to take nausea and dizziness as a sign to take it easy, but he suspected Steve might regard it as a challenge instead.

xxxxx

Danny’s own first challenge came at six o’clock the next morning. After a couple of days of nothing but sleep, Steve was wide awake. He had obviously learned something from yesterday’s attempt to leave hospital and sat up cautiously. Danny had been prepared for something like this: he’d not slept out on the sofabed, but instead was lying on top of the covers next to his partner.

He put a hand on Steve’s arm. 

“Woah, there, cowboy. Where do you think you’re going?”

“To work?” Steve looked at Danny, all wide-eyed innocence.

“And what did the nice doctor say?”

“I feel fine, Danny!”

Danny considered his approach.

“OK, Steven. We’ll play this your way. You get up, get showered, don’t forget to get the coffee on and I think I’ll have another five minutes snooze.”

Steve looked puzzled, but swung his legs off the bed and stood up.

Danny was counting down in his head, “Six, five, four, three…” 

Steve swayed, then lurched, and then scrambled for the bathroom. Danny kept his fingers crossed that he wouldn't be the one with the mop and bucket that morning.

After a decent pause to allow Steve to sort himself out, Danny tapped gently on the semi-closed bathroom door.

“Come in.”

Steve was leaning against the side of the bath, hands on the sides of his head.

“Back to bed, Steve?”

Xxxxx

Danny had given Steve his meds and a glass of water, then left him to nap. Danny himself was now was fully awake, though. He showered, cranked up the coffee machine, fired up the computer, and prepared himself to finally write his report on the brief part of the op that he’d been involved in. He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Hey, brah, how’s the bossman?” After a day and a half the scratches on Kono’s face had calmed down a lot. She had singlehandedly followed and captured one of the gang members at the warehouse who had thought he’d sneaked past SWAT. If this had involved a messy scramble through thorn bushes, well, that was just part of the job.

Chin was right behind her, a bulging bag from the Liliha bakery in his hands.

“We brought supplies! There’s enough for everyone if you want to do a full debrief with everyone present?”

“That’s a great thought but I don’t think Steve is going to be interested this morning. I can offer coffee, though!”

Of course, Danny might have known Steve wouldn’t sleep through visitors. He heard a yell from the bedroom, “Who is it Danny?”

“Come on in guys, let’s get Steve up to date.”

Xxxxx

That day was relatively easy, Danny realized in retrospect. No new cases, a debrief, followed by paperwork. They were struggling to find fresh leads, and Danny had his head down at the computer trying to find what might tie the dead dealers together to the men they had captured at the warehouse. After Chin and Kono filled them in on the warehouse bust, the cousins took off to follow up whatever Danny could find. Steve napped on and off, before emerging to sit up for an evening meal of plain chicken and salad, feeling much less sick and dizzy.

The next day was more demanding. Danny had slept in alongside Steve. Maybe he didn’t actually need to, but he kind of liked being able to keep an eye on him while he slept. And warned by the previous morning, Steve didn’t try to leap out of bed, but lay there watching Danny as he dressed. 

“What are you going to do today Danny?”

“I need to see the Governor. It shouldn’t take long. I’ve put your meds by the bed: do you want breakfast in bed too?” 

Steve shook his head cautiously. “No, I’m still feeling OK. I’ll get up slowly once you’ve gone.”


	7. Chapter 7

Danny’s meeting had only taken an hour: but he’d not accounted for what the Governor needed. Not content with the progress on the drug ring, he had Danny and Chin in meetings with Narcotics for the rest of the morning. Danny had made a quick call to Steve before getting embroiled. Steve had come back with his usual, “I’m fine,” but Danny was relieved to hear the TV on in the background adding truth to his partner’s claim to be relaxing on the sofa. 

Danny made it back around lunchtime with a stack of files to go through and a bag of food.

“You alright Steve?” he called as he entered, not seeing his partner. 

Steve emerged from the kitchenette holding a glass of water.

“I’m good: just getting my next dose of meds. What have you got?”

“This...” Danny indicated the files, “This is pretty much everything HPD has on our drug ring. This, on the other hand, is some steaming hot and sour soup - want some?”

xxxxx

HPD were out in full force that afternoon, bringing in several more drug dealers. Word had got round and it seemed like one or two even turned themselves in, asking for protective custody before they got ‘cleaned up’ too. Danny barely got more than a mouthful of soup before his phone started ringing, and after three calls he said, “It’s no good, Steve, I need to go in. We have people to interrogate. Do you want me to call someone to come over?”

“I’m a big boy, Danno. You can leave me home alone.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t going to just take an hour, and the doctor said…”

“I promise I’ll sit here on the couch, take my meds, and only go to the bathroom or kitchen if I need.” Steve had a twinkle in his eye as he said this. 

Danny frowned at his partner: “I better not find you roaming the island looking for trouble.”

“I’ll be fine Danny, now go and interrogate!”

After Danny left Steve finished his soup, then flicked on the TV. He soon switched it off again, bored by the choice of programs, bored by the surroundings, bored, bored, bored. It might have been better at his own house, he mused, but then he’d have had to deal with his mother coming in and out. Even the chance to sit on the lanai would have been marred by the potential conflict primed to kick off every time they spoke. No, he was better off at Danny’s, but what could he do?

He looked at the pile of files Danny had left on the table. He wasn’t allowed to go in to work, but surely no-one would object to him looking through a few files, would they?

xxxxx

Five hours later Steve sat back on the sofa. His head was throbbing again, but his mind was racing. He’d read through all the information, cross referenced lists of suspects, those arrested and those who were now dead. He’d logged on to Danny’s computer to check that he had the latest information, and made a quick call to Kono, hoping that the rookie would answer his questions without asking too many of her own. This all showed him one thing: the man he had seen at the warehouse was not included any of the information that they had. 

For a moment Steve wondered if he should wait for Danny’s return, but the SEAL inside him wanted action. He tried calling Danny, but his partner’s phone went straight to voicemail: he must be still in interrogation. He then tried Chin, but Kono picked up, 

“Hey, Steve. What’s up?”

“Where’s Danny? And Chin?”

“Still over at HPD working the guys they have in the cells. It’s hectic over there.”

“What are you doing? Can you come and pick me up? I’ve found something that’s been missed.”

xxxxx

Danny was sweaty and tired. He’d been interrogating drug dealers all afternoon with Chin. He appreciated the older man’s calm, but also missed the way Steve’s barely restrained anger got results from suspects, fast. Now all he wanted was a shower and a cold beer, but he could see that it might be some time before he got either. On his desk was a note:

Gone to pick up the bossman. Back soon! Kono

Danny groaned.

“Chin, have you seen this?”

Chin came over.

“What the hell is Steve playing at? Why’s Kono picking him up? He’s supposed to stay home.”

Danny hit Steve’s number on his phone and listened while it rang out to voicemail. 

“No luck, brah?” Chin tried Kono’s phone. “It’s switched off.”

“Fuck!” Danny ran his hands through his already disheveled hair. “OK, I don’t trust those two not to do something stupid. Can you track them?”

“I’m already on it.”


	8. Chapter 8

By the time Kono got to Danny’s place, Steve had already gone through all the databases that he could access via Danny’s computer to try and identify the man he’d seen. As Kono’s car pulled up he burst out of the door.

“I’ve got him Kono. Let’s go.”

Kono didn’t even try to stop the whirlwind that was Steve McGarrett on a mission as he climbed into her car. The man was fully dressed, guns and badge in place, and oblivious to any warnings to stay off work. 

She turned the car, headed out of the parking lot and said, “Should we call Chin and Danny? They might be back by now?”

“Nah.” Steve looked dismissive. “The guy I saw, he’s a financier. I’ve got his address: some swanky place up on the North Shore.”

Kono looked puzzled. “Which guy?”

“I saw his face: the first guy who came out of that warehouse. He’s a suit: you and I can pick him up and have him back at Five-0 before they’ve even finished at HPD. If he’s the money, not the muscle, I bet he knows a whole lot more about what’s going on than the low lives they are interviewing right now.”

Kono couldn’t resist the chance for action: she’d been left in charge of the office for most of the day and was ready to do something, anything, so she put her foot down. 

xxxxx

Back in the office, Chin had the results they needed. 

“OK, I’ve got a couple of locations for them. Steve’s phone is at your place, and Kono’s is somewhere off the Kamehameha Highway.”

“Strange! Right, let’s go check that Steve has simply left his phone behind and isn’t flat out on the floor. What Kono’s doing on the North Shore with her phone off can come next. ”

Forgetting their tiredness, Chin and Danny ran out of the office. In the Camaro, Chin didn’t comment on Danny’s driving, even though it could have rivaled Steve’s, but merely hung on to the door handle as they sped round corners. 

At the apartment, Danny leapt out of the car and Chin followed as he opened the door.

“Steve?”

There was no reply from the apartment. Danny checked out the bedroom and bathroom, while Chin examined the files Steve had been reading. He discovered Steve’s phone under a pile of paper, then moved over to the computer to look at the last viewed pages. 

He waved the phone at Danny as he came back into the main room. 

“The phone’s still here. You don’t think they’ve gone after a lead do you? Steve wouldn’t be that crazy?”

Danny shook his head. “Of course he would, Chin. Who’s he after?”

“Mike Harwood. He’s big in banking, major sponsor of one of the surf teams, loves surfing himself and lives up on the North Shore.”

“North Shore it is then … and that explains where Kono is too.”

xxxxx

Mike Harwood’s mansion was set back from the road, elevated with sweeping views over the shoreline. Steve was envious for a moment: it was the perfect place to catch a wave. Kono pulled the car up just before they could be seen from the house. 

“How are we playing this, boss?”

Steve had to make a decision. Was he sure that Harwood would come quietly? The guy had no previous, no history of violence, and he wasn’t convinced that he once the one who started the shooting at the warehouse, although his memory was irritatingly hazy on that part. 

“Let’s play it straight. Pull up at the front door and we’ll just ask him for a chat.”

Mike Harwood was in his fifties, greying, tanned, dressed in branded shorts and t-shirt, everything you might expect from a wealthy surfing enthusiast. He welcomed Steve and Kono into the house, and offered them drinks. 

Steve was keen to cut to the chase, though.

“Mr Harwood, we have reason to place you at a crime scene earlier this week. Could you let us know where you’ve been over the last few days?”

Harwood smiled, “Of course, Officer. That’s easy.” He rummaged in his wallet and pulled out some used airline tickets. 

Steve frowned at the tickets. “New York?”

“Yes, I go back this morning. Now, was there anything else I could help you with? I have a number of things to attend to after being away.”

“That will be all, for now.”

Harwood escorted them to the door. 

In the car, Kono said, “Well, that was a bust.”

Steve rubbed his temples. “I don’t know, Kono. I think we need to get Chin to look into this. I’m sure that he was at the warehouse.”

Kono looked at him sympathetically as she drove the car out onto the highway. “Do you want me to drop you home now?”

xxxxx

“There they are!”

Chin had been following the tracker on Kono’s car, and Danny did a quick 180 as they saw it going back down the road in the opposite direction. 

“Let’s shake them up!” Danny flicked on the lights and siren and pulled round in front of Kono, forcing her to a stop. 

She leapt from the car. “Jackass! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Me? Just what do you think you’re doing – and that includes you too Steven,” as Steve got out of the car more slowly. “This doesn’t look anything like staying home from work to me.”

Chin tried to calm things down, “Look, guys, let’s take this back to the office.”

“No, we are going back to my place, right now!”

Danny turned back to his car, climbed in, and fired up the engine. Chin scrambled in too, leaving Kono and Steve to follow contritely behind. 

xxxxx

“So, Steven, exactly why did you think it was a good plan to go after Harwood when you have specifically been signed off work? Especially when we had no idea that you’d seen enough to ID the guy?”

Back at Danny’s Chin and Kono had staged a tactical withdrawal and gone for beers and takeout, leaving Danny and Steve alone. 

Steve sat on the sofa, staring at the files, which also had the beneficial effect of meaning that he didn’t have to meet Danny’s eyes. 

“And looking at your face, I’d say that your head is hurting again?”

Steve didn’t look up, until a glass of water was placed in his hand, and Danny held out his meds to him. In a quieter voice, he said, “You don’t know how scared I was seeing you on the ground, someone firing overhead, no backup, no way for me to get you out of there.”

“’M sorry Danno.”

“Don’t give me that face! Come here you big lug.” Danny put an arm awkwardly round Steve. “Will you just stay home? Even if it means that it takes us a while longer to solve things? And call me – not Kono? Otherwise I know Auntie Luana would be willing to come and babysit you.”

Steve lay back against Danny’s arm.

“Thanks Danny.”

“What for?”

“For going to the hospital with me, for having me at your home so I don’t have to deal with Mom… even for bawling me out sometimes. It’s kinda nice, you know…”

The meds seemed to be having an effect: anyone who didn’t know better might have accused Steve of snuggling. 

Danny learned his head back too: it had been a long day.


	9. Chapter 9

When Chin and Kono got back, they walked in on Danny and Steve, snuggled up, asleep on the sofa.

“Aw, cuz, they’re so cute.”

Chin smiled too, then said, “We’d better wake them. We need to work out a strategy, and we all need some food. Give them a nudge. ”

Kono looked concerned, “Nudge Steve when he’s asleep? I’m not suicidal thanks brah!”

“I’ll do it then.” Chin didn’t nudge Steve. Instead he opened up a tub of Danny’s favourite noodles and waved them under the sleeping cop’s nose.

“Mmmm … is dinner here already?” Danny yawned and stretched. 

“Do you want to wake Steve?”

Danny considered, “I think he needs food before sleep.” And he gave the snoozing man in his arms a gentle shake.

“Wakey, wakey, Steven. Time for dinner.”

Steve took a while to stir, the diazepam doing its job, but by the time Chin had made coffee he was sitting up with a bowl of noodles and chicken. 

“No beer for you, Steve, not unless you want to be fast asleep again in three minutes.”

Steve smiled, “I can live with that. So, what are we going to do about Harwood?”

Chin was eating his food while flicking rapidly through computer screens. “I’ve downloaded the security footage from the airport for boarding and getting off the flights Harwood said he was on, and he’s not there. Those tickets might be genuine, but someone else flew in his name.”

“Can you tell who it was?” Kono asked. 

“That’s gonna take a while. I’m running Harwood’s cards though: there’s enough activity to place him in Honolulu. I don’t know how he thought we’d be fooled by those tickets for long.”

Steve was holding his head in his hands. 

“Headache bad?” Danny asked.

“No. Yes. I’m just thinking. Maybe he didn’t think it would fool us for long, but it definitely got us away. What was up there that he didn’t want us to discover?”

“Do we need to go back?” Kono asked. 

“Maybe,” Danny said, “But we’re getting a warrant first. And back up!”

“I’m on it.” Chin tapped on the keyboard and simultaneously put a call in to arrange the warrant. 

Kono had started looking into the records that Chin had printed off. 

“Gas station, gas station… why is he filling up with gas twice? Lunch, men’s clothing store, florists.”

Danny was ploughing through the files on the table again. 

“Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way. It’s not just one man who’s killed those dealers. We’ve got eight bodies from the streets now. Max has only done reports on five so far, but there are two different guns. Who are the killers? The bullets don’t match any of the guns from the warehouse, they’ve not been used in crimes on the Islands before. None of the guys you picked up from the warehouse are talking: well, three are in no fit state to talk. Aaargh!” He threw his hands in the air in frustration. “It’s like a jigsaw where none of the pieces match.”

“Keep it down, brah,” Kono said, “Steve’s asleep again.”

xxxxx

They had called it a night around midnight. The search warrant wouldn’t be through until morning, and Danny wasn’t going to do anything more at Harwood’s mansion without it. The figures were beginning to blur before Chin’s eyes, and Kono was yawning, so Danny sent them home.

Steve was still stretched out on the sofa. Danny put his hand on the taller man’s ankle. 

“Come on Steve, you’ll be better off in bed.”

Steve complied sleepily, and staggered through to the bedroom, Danny guiding him until he could crash out. Steve was asleep again within seconds of hitting the bed, and Danny lay down beside him. “Just five minutes, then I’ll go and change.”

xxxxx

Danny woke at six, still in the clothes from the day before. He suppressed a groan, not wanting to wake Steve, and rolled off the bed. 

“Shower, coffee, files,” he muttered to himself as he went to the bathroom. 

By the time he was out of the shower, the smell of coffee filled the apartment. 

He came out to find Steve standing at the kitchen counter, disheveled in just a t-shirt and briefs, staring into a cup of coffee. 

“I think I need some more clothes from home.”

“Good morning to you Steven.”

Steve thrust a coffee mug into Danny’s hand. 

“Do you mind me being here?”

“Hey, what’s brought this on? It’s no problem, babe, I kinda like the company…”

Whatever else Danny might have replied was interrupted by banging on the door. He opened it, to admit a tired looking Chin Ho Kelly. 

Steve put the gun back under the kitchen counter and said, “What’s up Chin? You been up all night?”

“Not quite, but I might as well have been. I went over to the office and set up monitors on Harwood’s phone and email accounts. I crashed on the sofa, but they started pinging at about 5.30am. I’ve pulled off everything, Kono’s on her way. I think we may have grounds to go in, warrant or no warrant. “

Steve disappeared into the bedroom and started pulling on his pants. His voice came clearly through the thin walls, “What else have you found?”

“He’s moving money offshore. I haven’t frozen the accounts: we need to let him think he’s getting away with it, but I think he’s going to run.”

Steve emerged fully dressed, gun and badge in hand. “Danny, get onto HPD. We want them up there ASAP, but warn them to stay out of sight.”

“On it, Steve, but can I just remind you that you are signed off work.”

Steve stopped strapping on his thigh holster. 

“You may join us, but you are staying in the car.”

xxxxx

Steve and Danny argued all the way up in the car but Danny remained resolute. The fact that Steve hadn’t tried to nab the car keys gave weight to Danny’s argument. 

“If you’re not fit to drive, you’re not going into a potentially dangerous situation. I know you say the guy doesn’t have a history of violence, but if he was the shooter who started it all off at the warehouse, then we’re not risking it.”

“I saw him there, but I don’t think he was the one who started shooting, Danny.”

“Well, seeing as you were on the tarmac at that stage, let’s leave it as moot. And either way, you are staying in the car Steven. I won’t be handcuffing you to the door, we all know how well that worked out.” 

Both men paused a moment, thinking of Jenna. 

“I am trusting you, Steve.” Danny took his eyes off the road for a moment to glare at his partner. 

They pulled over a few hundred meters before the turn-off for the Harwood mansion. Chin, Kono, and a team from HPD were gathered in the shelter of some trees. 

“Any movement?”

Duke shook his head. “I’ve got men north and east of the house, we can see what’s happening to the south and west. Doesn’t look like the guy is an early riser.”

Danny took charge. “Right, can you send your men to form a perimeter, and come in as close as you can and remain under cover. I’ll go up the side of the drive with Kono and Chin. Steve will be staying here.”

The HPD officers ran off, helmets on, guns in hand, to conceal themselves round the estate. Danny, Chin and Kono pulled on flak jackets, while Steve gave a good impression of sulking. 

“Don’t look at me like that Steve. Listen in on the HPD radio frequency if you want.”

xxxxx

It took a matter of minutes for Five-0 to reach where the trees ended and the garden began.

“Ready?” Danny asked.

Chin and Kono nodded. They checked the windows then ran as fast as possible towards the back of the house. 

The French doors that opened out onto the pool were unlocked, and the team let themselves in. They took it in turn to clear each room as they silently passed through. There was no sign of Harwood downstairs, although it was clear he’d been going through his papers: the office was in disarray. 

Danny gestured towards the stairs and they crept up, alert for any movement. Checking one room at a time they made their way to the master suite. There were sounds of movement from the room, so they burst in, 

“Five-0, hands in the air!”

“Oh, thank God!” A white faced Harwood turned from his frantic packing to face them. “I thought they were here already.”


	10. Chapter 10

The sweating, panicked man in front of them bore no resemblance to the suave financier from the day before. He looked around nervously, checking the windows, before launching into a muddled explanation:

“You gotta get me out of here. I thought I could hack it, but I can’t. They’re going to be here in an hour or less. I’m a dead man walking if we don’t leave now!”

“Slow down, slow down.” Danny took the lead. “Chin, can you update Duke? Let him know that we’ve got Harwood and he’s just about to fill us in, but we might be expecting company. Kono, keep an eye out please. Now, Mr Harwood, take it from the top, who’s coming to get you?”

“Al DiGennaro. Or if not him, his mob. I’ve really messed this up.”

“Go on: if you want to get protection you’re going to have to tell us more.”

“Can’t you take me down to the station now?”

“Maybe, start talking fast and we’ll see.”

“I started off investing a little off the side. My firm does a lot of import finance. It wasn’t hard to bring in one or two extras, and the returns were good.”

“Cocaine?”

“Yes, amongst other stuff.”

“How did you distribute it?”

“We started building a network, I linked up with this local guy who seemed to know who was who and he didn’t mind getting his hands dirty. “

“Name?”

“Kale, Kale Smith. He worked security for the firm.”

“Chin, can you look him up?”

“I can do better than that: I’ve got his record on my phone. He’s come up several times linked to the dead dealers we have. I’ll ask HPD to see if they can pick him up.”

“Look, this is great, but you’re missing the main point. We fucked up. I had no idea. DiGennaro got in touch: he said that the Island is his. He said he’s going to wipe my business out … and I don’t think he was too worried if he wiped me out too.”

“How’d he contact you? Is he on the Island?”

“Brah?” Chin looked up from his phone, an anxious look on his face. “Do you know who DiGennaro is?”

Danny looked at him. “Who?”

“He’s a drug runner who operates boats between here and the mainland, HPD have tried and failed to capture one of his shipments. He’s been ruthless in keeping the opposition down. I should have guessed he’d be involved. ”

“OK, we’re getting out of here. He’s coming here Harwood? You sure?”

Harwood nodded, and almost simultaneously there were shots from the wood. 

“I think he’s early.”

xxxxx

It took seconds for the situation to get out of control. HPD, prepared to take a single man into custody, perhaps with a few locals, were in no way prepared for the full on assault that came from both land and coast. A gunfight broke out, and Danny looked swiftly at Chin, Kono and Harwood. 

“Where’s the safest place in the house? I’m thinking no windows, easily defendable?”

“I’ve got a panic room!” Harwood said.

“Sounds about right for the situation.” Kono attempted an undertone, but Danny glared at her.

“Take Harwood, and lock him in. Then can you head up to the roof. I know you’ve not got a rifle with you, but do your best.”

Harwood, having decided to talk, had lost all inhibitions. “There’s a couple of rifles under the bed. Kale said I should… not that I know how to use them!”

Danny threw his hands up in the air, “Just what did you think… never mind.”

Chin and Kono pulled out the rifle cases, while Danny ushered Harwood towards the panic room. “Is there anything else you’d like to share with us before I lock you in and try to save your ass from an angry mob?”

Harwood shook his head, trembling. 

“Get in there! Chin, you’re with me!” And with that Kono headed for the roof while the two men made a rapid descent down the stairs. 

xxxxx

Outside, it was chaos. Duke had pulled as many HPD officers back to the cars as he could and was hastily calling for further back up, when he saw Steve’s back as he rummaged in the Camaro’s trunk. 

“Steve? What are you doing?”

“What’s the situation, Duke?”

As Steve straightened up, Duke could see he was wearing his flak jacket and thigh holsters. He watched the man add a couple of grenades to the pockets of his cargoes, before saying,

“They’re pinned down in the house. I’ve called for SWAT, but it’s going to take a while for them to get out here. There were at least 10 men coming in from the coast, three of my men are pinned down, and two are injured, or worse. But…”

He was talking to Steve’s back as the ex-SEAL ran off into the trees. 

xxxxx

The sun blazed down on the corner of the flat roof where Kono had ensconced herself. She fired off another round, more cautiously than usual. Harwood didn’t have a big supply of ammo, and she had to make sure that every bullet hit a mobster rather than a cop. 

The vantage point gave her a clear view over the coastal approaches to the house. She fired again, one, two, three, downing a man as he made a run for the house. What she couldn’t do was guard all sides at once. Any approaches made to the front had to rely on Chin or Danny. 

xxxxx

The two men in question had their hands full. Danny to the front, Chin to the rear, they carefully eked out their supply of bullets to keep the would-be invaders clear from the house. 

“Bet they were surprised by this,” Danny muttered to himself as he aimed at a man in the bushes lining the driveway. “Where’s fucking HPD?” The mobsters were incredibly well armed, and obviously well supplied as they fired off round after round. Danny ducked back behind a pillar, and hoped that today was not the day that Grace would lose her father. 

xxxxx

Out in the trees that filled the space between the beach and the gardens, a tall, muscled blond man was reloading, ready to mount another assault on the small team in the house. 

“Ouf!”

Without notice, he was felled by an attack from behind. 

xxxxx

Duke was cautiously making his way towards the house, approaching from the front. SWAT were still ten minutes out, and would be approaching in two teams from land and sea. He could hear gunfire from closer to the house. Skulking low down, he hoped to approach some of the attackers from behind: “Come on guys, I just hope we’re going to be in time.”

xxxxx

The offensive on the mansion was unrelenting, or so it seemed to those inside. Shot after shot pelted down to front and rear, and Danny knew that it was only a matter of minutes before he was out of ammunition. A cry came up from the big room at the back of the house with glass windows. 

“Chin?”

“It’s OK, just got clipped.”

Danny fired again at the guy trying to get to the front door. 

“Do you need me?”

“Just going to strap it up. Oh shit!”

Danny’s phone started ringing. He moved backwards, watching the front while hoping to get closer to see what was up with Chin. Answering the phone with one hand, firing with the other, he heard Kono’s voice:

“You wanna get upstairs, now!”

Chin was backing out of the lounge, blood dripping down his side.

“Run Danny, they’ve brought up a rocket launcher.”

The two men pelted up the stairs.

“Harwood?”

“He’s safer where he is. Roof, now!”

Up on the roof, Kono was doing her best to target the guy with the rocket launcher, but he was right at the limit of her skills. As they reached the roof, Chin slipped, and sat slumped against the top of the stairwell. Danny ripped off his tie and strapped it round Chin’s bleeding arm. “Stay with me, man. This gotta hold it for now: I need to see if they’re breaching the front.”

Danny scuttled towards the front of the roof, while calling back to Kono, “Let me know what’s happening: if they are aiming low, we’re good. If they’re aiming at the roof we’re screwed. We gotta get Chin down the stairs again fast if you think they’ve worked out we’re all up here.”

He saw the man who had been attacking the front take advantage of Danny’s pause in fire, and make a run towards the door. Danny fired and felled him, “Got you!”

Further down the drive he saw shots and another man fall.

“There’s someone helping us out front.”

“Danny, he’s aiming up here.” Kono was firing as fast as she could. “I’ll stay up: you get Chin back down to Harwood’s panic room.”

Danny frowned: he only had moments to decide whether to leave the rookie on the roof.

“Steve!” Danny turned at Kono’s cry, in time to see the SEAL running towards the man with the rocket launcher. As Steve fired off shot after shot, the man didn’t stand a chance. 

“Fucking hell!” Danny was dismayed to see his partner out there, while relieved that the immediate threat had been neutralized. He watched Steve run off into the woods, and moments later, a massive explosion rocked the air from down by Harwood’s landing stage. Danny swore again. “Kono, I think the action’s moving!”

Finally, he heard the roar of armored vehicles as SWAT came up the drive. No-one fired on them, though.


	11. Chapter 11

With SWAT on the ground, the balance would have shifted anyway, but as Danny helped Chin down the stairs, he didn’t hear any more gunshots. 

“Kono, what can you see?” he called back up.

“It’s looking pretty clear of gunmen up here. There’s a columns of smoke coming from down by the beach. Should I come down?”

“OK, but leave Harwood until we know it’s clear.” 

He put a call in to Duke. “What’s the situation out there?”

“It looks like they are all down. Hold on in the house for a few moments ‘til we’ve got confirmation. Are you guys all OK?”

“Chin’s been shot in the arm: he’s gonna need an ambulance.”

“They’re on the way already, we just need to make sure the area is secure. Can he hold on?”

Chin, overhearing the conversation, said, “I’m fine!”

“Yeah, and you didn’t just swoon like a girl when you ran up the stairs?”

Danny turned back to his call, “Was that you on the front drive? Thanks, man. And did you see Steve?”

Duke hesitated, “I saw him take off into the trees.”

“And we saw him take down the guy who was about to shorten all our lifespans with a rocket launcher. And I suspect he was something to do with the explosion at the waterline, but where is he now?”

xxxxx

Clearing up took hours. Harwood’s grounds were extensive. HPD found vehicles belonging to the mob who had attacked the house, and SWAT had picked up eight bodies at various points, plus an impressive armory. 

The ambulances had been allowed in around twenty minutes after Danny’s call with Duke, and already Chin was on his way to hospital, along with three members of the initial HPD team. 

“You know, we were only in there for forty minutes,” Danny said to Duke, a worried look on his face. “It all started going downhill about ten minutes in, maybe it took another five for Steve to realise what was up and take off. From what SWAT have said, I’d guess he’s responsible for immobilizing most of the gang attacking us. So where is he now? The last thing he did is blow up their boat, and he’s had plenty of time to make it back up here. I’m heading down that way. “

He set off at a run down the grassy slopes of the garden, followed by Kono. Duke beckoned to a couple more men, and chased after them. 

Beyond the lawns, they had to slow down as the ground grew more uneven. Scrubby trees were interspersed with spiky bushes. Rocks were embedded in sandy earth, and more than once Danny stumbled. 

“We need to spread out. Watch out in case anyone is still out here. I’m going straight down towards what’s left of the boat, Kono, take the left, Duke, can you go right?” He directed the HPD men to flank the team on either side. “Steve’s probably not going to have used the path going down to minimize detection, on the way back it will depend if he was going for speed, but if he still suspected that some of the gang were out there he’ll have stayed in the scrub. Be careful how you approach him: make it clear that you’re HPD.”

Danny took his own advice and made his way carefully down the sandy track. There were plenty of boot prints, but he didn’t stop to try and see if any matched Steve’s. He could smell burning in the air, and for a moment had a horrific vision of Steve caught in the explosion. Danny sped up, needing to see what was at the bottom of the path. He reached the wooden jetty, and ran along it, gun held out in case of attack. He need not have worried: what was left of a large cruiser was smoldering alongside the ruined end of the landing stage shore. It was quite clear that no-one would have survived.

He turned to hear a cry from Kono, “Danny, over here.”

He couldn’t see her at first, then caught a glimpse of the bright blue shirt she was wearing up in some bushes. He ran up the beach, gun still to the forefront, cursing the powdery sand as it slowed his steps. 

Kono was bending down next to Steve, who was curled up under the bushes, his eyes closed.


	12. Chapter 12

Kono set off up the hill as fast as she could. Phone reception was non-existent down by the shore. Danny stayed by his partner, willing Steve to stir. He gently pulled him out from under the bushes: maybe you shouldn’t move someone with an injury, but equally he couldn’t leave his partner there in case he was bleeding out from some unseen wound. 

“Come on, Steve.” 

He cautiously explored his partner for injuries. There were deep scratches along his arms and cheeks, signs that he’d been running through the spiky bushes, but no burns from the explosion, and no gunshot wounds, 

“Thank God!” 

He leaned forwards to check Steve’s pupils, but touching the man’s face elicited a groan.

“Steve, its Danny. Steve?”

Steve raised his eyelids slowly, his eyes locked on Danny’s face. Danny could see his eyes jerking rapidly in tiny movements from side to side. 

“Did you hit your head?”

Steve looked puzzled, raising one hand to rub his ear.

“Can you hear me Steven?”

The sound of thudding feet announced the arrival of Kono and a couple of paramedics. 

“Stand back please, sir.”

The paramedics checked Steve over with practiced efficiency, then loaded him on to a stretcher. It was hard going getting the six foot SEAL back up the hill, and Danny and Kono assisted as much as they could. Steve remained conscious all the way up, but didn’t argue about being carried. His eyes were unfocussed, and his skin was pale beneath his tan. 

At the ambulance, Danny was faced with one of the hardest decisions he’d had to make. He bent over and looked his partner in the eye. 

“You’re going to go in the ambulance Steve. I’m going to follow on as soon as I can, but I need to stay with Kono to finish up here.”

He didn’t know if Steve understood anything of what he said, and stood and watched as the ambulance doors closed and his partner was taken to the hospital. 

Kono startled him out of his reverie, “Time to get Harwood, brah?”

“OK, let’s do it. That greedy shit has a lot to answer for.”

Danny’s anger at Harwood wasn’t mellowed by the time they reached the panic room. Kono had picked up a couple of HPD officers to accompany them. “We better be ready in case he has any surprises in there with him. I wouldn’t put it past him to have more weapons stashed. He was jumpy as hell before the gunfight, heaven knows what he’s like now.”

In the end, they had to go right into the panic room and pull out the man. Harwood was curled up in a corner with his hands over his ears. Danny heaved him up and shoved him into the arms of one of the HPD cops before he could do something he might regret. “Take him down the station.”

As they emerged into the sunshine, a fully-fledged crime scene investigation was developing. Fong had just driven up in the mobile unit, and Max was checking over the bodies that had been lined up outside the house. The number of dead had grown as HPD searched the grounds, and after spotting one of the dead Kono quickly checked records via her phone. 

“Danny, check this out. It looks as though Steve got Al DiGennaro himself.” 

The body of the mobster lay on the drive, burnt clothes showing that he had definitely been involved in the explosion in some way. 

“He must have been close to the boat when it went up. Too close.”

“Well, that’s one result from this cluster-fuck. Can you work with Max to ID the rest? Now Harwood is finally in custody and DiGennaro won’t be bothering anyone I’m going to run down to the Waianae hospital to check on Chin and Steve.”

“Call me when you find out.” 

“Sure. I’ll meet you back at HPD: we need to interrogate Harwood as soon as we can.”

Danny left Duke in charge of the follow up, climbed into the Camaro, and put his foot down for the journey back. 

In the car, Danny’s mind raced through what had happened. He quickly thought about Chin: the wound hadn’t seemed too severe, but the man had lost quite a lot of blood. Three HPD cops had been shot, one looked in a bad way as he was carried off. And Steve. Steve was alive, was conscious, or had been when he left in the ambulance, but he’d looked stunned. Was it the effect of running round Harwood’s estate while not one hundred per cent, the explosion, or something else?

His journey took far too long, but eventually he screeched into the parking lot at the hospital. Dumping the Camaro in one of the police spaces he ran into the ER. Seeing a familiar nurse, he caught her arm. Danny forced himself to take a breath. “You had a few of our guys in here, can you give me an update?”

A tap on his shoulder, and he turned, only to see Chin standing next to him. 

“Come on Danny, Steve’s this way.”

This way turned out to be the neurology suite where, for the second time in just a few days, Steve was going through a gamut of tests. Danny sat down with Chin, who had somehow procured two cups of coffee.

“Drink it, brah. You need it.”

Danny swigged the scalding sugary liquid. Great coffee it was not, but it gave him a much needed recharge. 

“What about you man, what are you doing running around?”

Chin looked down at his bandaged arm.

“I’m good. They hooked me up to a drip on the way in, I’m back up to full of O neg. And it was a straight through and through. A clean up, some stitches, three cups of this stuff and I’m ready to go.”

“Did you see Steve?”

“Yes, but only as they brought him through here. They haven’t let me in.”

Danny sighed and rubbed his face. “I should go outside and call Kono. I said I’d see her back at HPD. We need to give Harwood a going over. They may have picked up Kale Smith too by now.”

“I’ll give her a call. She’ll want to hear it from me that I’m OK. I could go down to HPD with her if you want.”

Danny shook his head. “No, much as I’d like to stay with Steve, I should be down there. You call Kono, then come back here. Tell me what’s her ETA at HPD and I’ll be there.”


	13. Chapter 13

The interrogation of Harwood was fruitful if unchallenging, and Danny found little outlet for his anger. 

“So, you’re saying you saw a ‘gap in the market’, I quote, and thought that if you gathered a few hitters and some low lifes to act as dealers, you could just reap a nice little profit from your investment?”

Danny was tempted to hit Harwood for complete and utter stupidity.

Harwood had nodded his agreement to this summary. Kono was practically vibrating in her seat when Danny made the call to hand this over. In the end, Danny left Harwood with two HPD officers who could transcribe verbatim every word he said, take down the names of every contact, and start traces on his source of drugs.

Smith had been similarly easy to get to talk. Like Harwood, he’d realized he was in over his head. And although he’d tried to do a runner when HPD knocked on his door, he’d put his hands up in relief at realizing it was a uniformed cop rather than one of DiGennaro’s mob chasing him down. 

The coke had largely been rounded up: the bulk of it had been at the warehouse and HPD had recovered more from both Smith and Harwood’s homes. Danny was staring at some papers on his desk, deliberating whether to do his duty as a police officer and complete them, or follow his heart and go back to the hospital, when his phone rang. He cursed when he saw it was the Governor, rather than Chin. 

“Governor, what can I do for you?”

“I gather Commander McGarrett is unavailable right now, but I wanted to congratulate you all. You seem to have taken out one of the ‘most wanted’ during your bust this afternoon. Al DiGennaro has been causing trouble up and down the eastern seaboard, and I’m most relieved that you nipped any activities here in the bud.”

The man kept talking, but the words blurred as Danny shoved the papers away, seething at the man’s crass assessment of Steve as ‘unavailable’. 

“Thank you Governor,” he interrupted as he ran down the stairs to his car. “I’m heading back to the hospital as I need to see how Commander McGarrett is doing. The team’s going to need a few days off after this.”

He hung up as the Governor said, “Whatever you need, Detective, whatever you need.”

At the car Danny was surprised to have his keys snatched from his hand. 

“What the… Kono?”

“You shouldn’t be driving. Your mind is at the hospital already: you didn’t even see me. Get on the phone to Chin for an update and I’ll drive us both over there. “

Danny had to agree and climbed into the passenger seat. Kono put on the sirens, and he didn’t have the heart to stop her, knowing that she was only doing what he would have liked to. 

“Chin, what’s the update?”

“They’re taking him up to the ward. He’s gonna be OK Danny.”

“We’ll be there in twenty.”

“I’ll see you at the door.”

xxxxx


	14. Chapter 14

EPILOGUE

The sun was setting as the Camaro pulled into the driveway.

“It’s kind of nice coming home. It’s been great to stay at your place, Danny, but…” Steve looked slightly ashamed of his feelings.

“Don’t be daft. It’s good to look forward to coming home. That’s normal human feelings, you Neanderthal!” Danny’s hands were waving as he spoke, “I mean, it’s been great having you over. It’s going to be kinda quiet without you, but I’m glad that you’ve been cleared for work.”

“I’m just glad Doris has headed off with Mary. She said she has plan to spend a couple of months on the mainland, with Mary and to catch up with some old friends.”

Danny mocked, “I can’t imagine what the old friends will be thinking. ‘Hi, it’s Doris. Yes, I know you thought I was dead but just thought I’d drop by…’”

Steve laughed. “Well, at least we don’t need to worry about her walking in right now."

Steve carried his bags into the house, and Danny followed with some groceries and a six pack of Longboards. They’d developed a routine while Steve was at Danny’s and fell into it naturally here too.

“Steaks on the beach?”

“Might as well, seeing as you have a beach right outside.”

After eating they sat on the lanai. Danny lay back and stared up at the stars. They’d all had several days off after taking down both Harwood and DiGennaro, so he was more relaxed than he’d been for a while. Steve was sat more upright, elbows on his knees as he picked at the label on his beer.

“Spit it out!” Danny said.

“What?”

“Whatever you’re churning over in that mind of yours.”

“I’ve been thinking…”

Danny clamped his mouth together to bite back a smart comment.

“… I don’t want to go on like this.”

It was Danny’s turn to look worried. “Are you going back to the Navy?”

Steve laughed again, looking more relaxed. “No. I mean… Look, it was really stupid what I did. I should have stayed home instead of running after Harwood, I realize that. But out there at the mansion, when I heard the gunfire, I guess I realized just how worried you were when I passed out down at the warehouse.”

Danny huffed, “Finally!”

“I’m serious, Danno. The thought that maybe the last time I got to see you: there was stuff I hadn’t said. And it’s been good, staying at your place. I need to make some changes. Be clearer to Doris that she can’t just walk in, because maybe, there might be something important that she could interrupt.”

Steve looked at Danny, expectantly.

“What are you saying, Steven?”

“That I’m an adult, that I’m not going to let what people might think or say stop me any more, that when you were in Harwood’s mansion I could only think that I’d never told you how I felt.”

And being a man of action who’d already used more words than he was comfortable with, Steve leaned towards his partner and kissed him.

Danny returned the kiss with interest. Pulling apart moments later, he said, “So, Steven, next time you are worried about me, do you plan to go and blow up a boat and take out a leading drug dealer plus his mob, and put yourself back in hospital for three days with a severe concussion?”

Steve looked sheepish, but just moved in for another kiss.


End file.
